


Multiplayer Mode

by Lumelle



Series: Dating Durins [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Female Kíli, Getting Together, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Ori, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-07-18 11:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7313011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fíli has been following a cute YouTube gamer called Scribeling for a while, dreaming in vain of an actual connection. When his cousin Dwalin's boyfriend asks Fíli to meet his little sister due to their common interest in video games, the last thing Fíli expects to see is his YouTube crush.</p>
<p>How can that be, though, when Scribeling is male?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Please note** that this story contains a trans character who is not out to the people in their life, and some of the worries associated with this, as well as some references to off-screen homophobia and transphobia. Please read accordingly.
> 
> There may be some fun poked at a certain recent horror game series.

Really, Fíli should have been ashamed that it took him so long to get around to watching the new episode.

In his defence, it was outside the usual update schedule. Scribeling was a regular updater, but he also claimed to have a life, so usually there was no point in checking out the channel except on his scheduled update days. Even so, Fíli was usually going back to rewatch old videos all the time, so really it shouldn't have been all the way until the next evening before he saw the new title and very nearly squeaked.

"LET'S PLAY Seven Seconds at Screamer's 5 #1: The Surprise Everyone Saw Coming!"

As soon as he found it, of course, he had to rush off to watch it, because like hell was he going to miss the chance to watch this on a proper screen. His phone was all good and well for regular lazy watching, but a new Scribeling video? That required the computer, with a big screen and proper headphones. How would he otherwise get the most out of all the jumpscares?

Turning on the computer, he ran to the kitchen for a drink while it set itself up. Kíli gave him a strange glance, but he ignored her. A bonus Scribeling video came before everything else.

By the time he got back to his room the computer was all ready and waiting, and he set his drink down before flopping down and navigating his way to the right video. Headphones on, he finally got to click play.

The video opened up to an ominous-looking title screen with shadows moving about an old attic, by the looks of it. There was a feed of an empty computer chair in one corner, until a boy about Fíli's own age dropped down into the chair, waving at the camera.

"Hello, pretty people!" The boy grinned at the camera, running a hand through his messy reddish hair. "I'm Scribeling, and this is the new Seven Seconds at Screamer's! Which came out ahead of schedule a whole two days ago, and I know, I know, I should have gotten to it right away, I've been getting plenty of comments about it. Things have just been a bit hectic around here, my middle brother brought home a partner who's way older than him, and I figured that for all that you guys like hearing me scream you probably wouldn't enjoy my oldest brother's yelling quite as much. But now, it's nice and quiet for a change, so it's about time I give you all my first taste of the new game."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "And to those who haven't watched me before and are only here for the new Screamer's, yes, I'm old enough to play these, yes, I finished all the previous ones, and actually yes, I am gay so you can refrain from stating so in the comments." He winked at the camera and blew a kiss, then turned his gaze away with a more serious look. "So! Let's see if this thing lives up to the reputation of the series. Goodness knows we've all heard the speculations."

Fíli relaxed back in his chair, watching as the video took him to the old attic from the title screen, Scribeling waiting for the first voice-over narration to be over before he started commenting. He seemed quite calm as he tried out the new game mechanics, though Fíli suspected it wouldn't last forever. From his long experience on the channel Fíli knew that Scribeling was remarkably good at not being startled at jumpscares in most cases, but things without proper lighting put him more on the edge than usual, and this game was already promising to be quite dark indeed.

"Seven seconds? Dude, I know you've spent more like seven million seconds watching those games."

Fíli did not jump at the sudden voice and hand on his shoulder, but it was a near thing. A part of him wanted to just ignore that and keep watching, but he knew his sister too well to hope for any kind of peace that way. He clicked to pause the video and turned to look at Kíli, sighing. "You came to my room just to criticise the name of the game?"

"Actually I came here to see what exactly had you so flustered, but I think I can see the answer already." Kíli nodded at the screen. "That's the cute guy you like to see screaming, isn't it?"

Fíli felt his cheeks heating up. "It's not like that."

"Sure it isn't. I'm sure you watch his videos religiously just for the great gaming skills."

"Actually, he's really good." Why was he being defencive? He had no reason to be defencive, certainly not about Scribeling. Particularly since he knew Kíli had not gotten even halfway through the first game herself before declaring the mechanics were beyond normal human understanding and she'd be back once the game gave her a gun. "He was the first one to post a completed playthrough of the third game, and he's beaten all the games so far on the highest difficulty."

"So if this is the fifth one, that's taken him how long? Twenty-eight seconds total?"

"The seconds in the name don't actually refer to time at all! See, it all revolves around this really complicated backstory about 18th century duelists —"

"I was just joking, Fíli, not looking for a lecture." Kíli shook her head. "Hey, you say he's good at the game, I'll take your word for it. I still think you only watch him because you think he's cute. Which, I guess I can see the appeal, if you like the scrawny geeky type. He got a sister?"

"Just two brothers, and that's not why I watch him." It wasn't, not at all. The fact that Scribeling was indeed very cute had no bearing whatsoever on Fíli's interest in him. And Kíli could just shut up about it, thank you very much. "I happen to enjoy watching skilled players and interesting games."

"Well, I suppose that's fair enough, given that you've yet to finish a single one of these games yourself." Kíli chuckled and patted his shoulder. "I'll let you get back to your screamer. The title sounds like a bad porn movie, by the way."

"Get out of here before I tell mum that you apparently have a very good knowledge about porn titles."

"Just remember to lock the door if you get too excited!" With a laugh, Kíli finally left the room, at least having the courtesy to close the door behind herself. Fíli glared after her, then turned back to his interrupted video. Scribeling almost seemed to be smiling in the corner even as the game screen was frozen at what looked an awful lot like a blood splatter on the wall.

Fíli pressed play, and not two seconds later, Scribeling yelped as something crashed through the window, some sort of a deformed monster appearing on the screen for a moment before fading to a game over screen.

Well. It was a good thing he hadn't picked up his drink yet, or he probably would have spilt it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori makes a strange request, and Ori can't help but agree. However, he doesn't know just what awaits him.

"So." Nori dropped down on Ori's bed, lounging there as though he had every right to do so. "I visited some of Dwalin's relatives last week."

"Oh?" Ori didn't really look away from his computer, but then he knew Nori probably didn't expect him to do so. "That's nice." Not that it still wasn't strange to hear Nori talking so casually about spending time with Dwalin's family, when he had been so secretive about the whole affair for a while.

"Indeed it is." Nori was angling at something, that much was clear, but the only way to figure out what he was after was to hear him out. "He's got a bunch of cousins, all around his age."

"By which you mean, all old enough to be your parents." Which wasn't strictly speaking true, of course. Certainly it might have been physically possible for Dwalin to have fathered someone Nori's age in his wild youth, but somewhat unlikely, considering they only had fifteen years or so of an age difference. Which was obviously more than enough to make Dori scream and yell, but that was a different matter.

"Now, now, let's not get cheeky. Though one of his cousins did have a couple of kids about your age, so it's not that far off."

"See? You've fallen for an old man." Ori was only teasing, of course, and he trusted Nori to know that, for all that Dori's disapproval had been more than real until he had learnt to know Dwalin better. Dwalin made Nori happy, and that was all that mattered to Ori. It would be all that mattered to Dori as well, once he got over the worst of his initial misgivings.

"You are absolutely hilarious, baby bird." Nori paused, and Ori heard the squeak of the little stress toy he had on his nightstand. Nori had apparently grabbed it for some squeezing. "So, one of them is this fairly cute kid, almost exactly your age, I believe."

"Yes, you mentioned they were my age." Though now he was getting rather suspicious about all this utterly unnecessary detail.

"So I did." Nori hummed to himself. "And from what I hear, he's also into video games. Videos, too. Dwalin's often seen him watching all sorts of gaming videos online. Apparently he's all but glued to the screen."

"That's nice." Definitely suspicious, now, but Ori wasn't going to press until Nori took the next step.

"So, you know. The two of you have some stuff in common."

"Nori." Finally Ori paused his game and turned to look at his middle brother, who was doing an awful job of trying to affect an innocent look. "Are you seriously thinking of setting me up with someone?"

"What? No. Where would you get such an idea? I don't want you to date someone!" Nori seemed almost offended by the mere suggestion. "Which is why it's good that I checked with Dwalin, and the kid is definitely gay."

"Right." Which… didn't exactly solve the problem, but then, it wasn't like Nori knew that. And it wasn't like the mystery guy could know that, either, not when it had every chance of getting back to his brother. Ori wasn't ready to open that can of worms just yet, thank you. "So… what exactly is it you are after?"

"Well, you know." Nori shrugged. "Dori's always saying you should get more friends your own age. Friends you can actually meet face to face, before you start protesting. You know he thinks online doesn't count."

"And you know I think that's utterly ridiculous." Ori shook his head. "What's the difference between talking with someone online and over the phone, or whatever?"

"Hey, I'm not disagreeing with you here. Just pointing out Dori would love for you to have friends who you could actually bring around. And here's a kid who has the same interests, is about your age, and from my short meeting with him and what I've heard from Dwalin is a more than decent guy. All I'm saying is, maybe you should give him a chance?"

"And what do you get out of this?" Ori narrowed his eyes in suspicion. It wasn't often that Nori seemed to take such an overt interest in Ori's life.

"Why, Ori, I'm hurt. Hurt and utterly devastated by all this undue suspicion, let me tell you. Can't a brother just take a healthy interest in his sister's social life?"

The casual words stung, as they always did, but it wasn't like Ori could protest. "Please. There's a difference between taking an interest and trying to meddle, and we both know you've never tried to do anything like this before."

"So perhaps I have my own agenda." Nori smirked, squeezing the stress toy in his hand. "If Dwalin's family is the answer to getting you some proper friends, then that ought to endear him to Dori at least a little bit, don't you think?"

"Just don't count on that to entirely change Dori's mind on him." Not that Dori hated Dwalin or anything, he had grudgingly admitted that Dwalin appeared to be a rather nice man, he just wasn't entirely trusting of either Nori's or Dwalin's motivations regarding the relationship. It was always suspicious, he had muttered to Ori, when an older person took up with a young and pretty one, and while even he couldn't miss the way Dwalin seemed to adore Nori he could still be suspicious of the reasons behind it all.

"Yes, well, I've got to try, don't I?" Nori's face took on a surprisingly sincere look. "I really like him, you know. Dwalin, that is. And if this helps Dori accept him, I'll do it." His expression was so open and honest, so very unlike Nori, that there was no way Ori could have told him no.

"Well. In that case, we'd better hope I get along well with this cousin of his, right? Wouldn't want your genius plan to backfire or anything, after all."

This was, of course, how Ori ended up standing outside the trendy little café at the mall the following weekend. He would have rather preferred to at least be in touch with the guy first, but Nori had insisted that would have destroyed the purpose of finding friends he could actually meet, so an actual meeting it had to be. Dori, of course, had been absolutely thrilled to hear about the plan, even making some mention about how it was the best idea Nori had had in the last ten years or so. At that point it had been impossible for Ori to back out, even as Dori had started fussing over how he ought to put some actual effort into his appearance, really Ori dearest, you can't just go out to meet someone in those old jeans and hoodie you use for your video games. So on top of the discomfort of having to meet a new person with only the vaguest of ideas of what he was like, Ori also had to deal with having his hair and clothes and everything else meddled with. At least Dori had long since given up on trying to get him into dresses.

Now he just had to hope this cousin of Dwalin's was either actually nice, or horrible enough he could just ditch the entire effort. Otherwise he would be stuck in a lukewarm friendship for who knew how long just to please his brothers.

Taking a deep breath, Ori finally steeled himself and walked inside the café. He actually had no idea what the guy he was supposed to meet looked like, because apparently Nori was too smart to think of such simple aids as pictures, leaving Ori to go with a basic description and the vain hope that the place wouldn't be filled with too many blond teenagers.

As it happened, he was in luck, and there was only one blond guy around his own age who didn't already have company of some sort, sitting alone at a table and playing with his phone. After a moment's consideration — it wasn't too late to run away, was it? — Ori headed towards him, somehow managing to put a smile on his face that hopefully wasn't too terrified.

"Ah, hi." He set a hand on the back of the chair opposite to the guy, ready to pull it out to sit, but not quite committing to it yet. "You're Fíli, right? I think we were supposed to meet here."

"Yeah, that's me." The guy, Fíli apparently, set down his phone and looked up at Ori with a hint of a smile on his face. "I was just —" Then, his face took on a look of… Ori was fairly sure that was shock?

"Ah. Is something wrong?" He'd done something, hadn't he? That had to be it. He'd done something terrible, like accidentally managed to come here in only his underwear, or missed a massive bruise in the middle of his face, or —

"You're Scribeling," breathed Fíli, his eyes wide, and the blood froze in Ori's veins.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori's little sister is... not exactly what Fíli expected.
> 
> Not that that's a problem, of course.

Fíli still wasn't sure what to think about Nori. Not that he knew much about the guy anyway, having only met him a couple of times so far, and even then only briefly. Mostly he knew about Nori from listening to the adults gossip about his utterly scandalous affair with Dwalin, and even that had only come to light a little while ago, so there wasn't exactly all that much being said.

Far as Fíli could figure it out, the only scandalous thing about their little romance was the age difference; he knew perfectly well his family didn't have any problem with someone being gay, and Dwalin had dated men before anyway, though never with very much seriousness. Nori wasn't that different from his previous paramours, except for the fact where he was so much younger than Dwalin, he was actually closer to Fíli's age. This wasn't even an exaggeration. Fíli had just passed fifteen, while Nori was apparently somewhere near twenty, being a university student at the moment. Compared with Dwalin, who was within a year or two of the age of Fíli's mother, that was quite the gap.

The point being, he really didn't have much of an idea about Nori. Which meant that when Nori came up to him on a visit to their house, asking if he had a moment to talk, Fíli had absolutely no idea what to expect.

Whatever he might have guessed, it wouldn't have been this, he was pretty sure.

"Let me get this straight." Fili frowned. "You want me to meet your little sister?"

"That would be the gist of it, yes." Nori nodded. "From what I hear you're into video games and videos of them and whatnot, and that's what she does as well. I'm sure you two would hit it off great."

"You know, a lot of people aren't so eager to introduce their younger siblings to new people." Fíli lifted his eyebrows.

"Yes, well, that's why I'm very glad that Dwalin informed me you are very much gay, since it means you're not actually a threat to her virtue." Nori shrugged. "Not that I give much of a damn, would be pretty hypocritical of me to do so when Dwalin is hardly the first person I've ever dated, but I don't think Dori would be as pleased with me setting her up for a meeting with some guy who might actually be interested in her."

"Then why are you actually trying, if not for a date or something? Or do you go around asking people to meet her all the time?"

"Not quite. It's just, she doesn't have that many friends, and Dori's worried. Seems easier to me to actually try to do something about it rather than continue worrying and wringing my hands while she just sits in her room at the computer all day."

It had seemed quite sensible to Fíli, really. Not that he'd ever had to worry about Kíli not making enough friends, she seemed to have a knack for finding friends in the most unlikely of places, but he could definitely understand worrying for a younger sister. Which was why he had agreed in the end, for all that he had still been dubious of his chances of actually befriending Nori's apparently rather introverted little sister.

Of course, then the actual meeting actually happened, and he was left staring.

He hadn't meant to, really he hadn't, and no doubt his mother would have had his hide for staring like some sort of an idiot at someone he had just met. It just — he hadn't known what Dwalin's cousin would look like, had only received a very vague description, but clearly this was her considering she was asking Fíli by name. Except when Fíli looked up from where he had been complaining to Kíli about this whole insane scheme, ready to put on a polite smile and hope the meeting wouldn't be too painful, he had seen a very familiar face indeed.

It wasn't exactly the same, of course. There were hair decorations in the neatly brushed hair for one thing instead of the usual messy mop of hair, and the clothes were definitely feminine, and was that even a hint of make-up? However, despite the subtle differences, Fíli was absolutely sure of his identification. He'd watched Scribeling's face for what had to be hundreds of hours, he wasn't going to be fooled that easily.

"Um, excuse me?" The girl, Ori wasn't it, looked a bit startled, but not entirely surprised.

"Scribeling. That's who you are, isn't it? You do gaming videos. I'm pretty sure I've seen all of them." Most of them several times, actually, but there was no need to make himself look like even more of a crazed fanboy than he actually was. "But… wait. Scribeling is a guy." Which he knew very well, actually, with how often Kíli teased him about his silly little crush on someone he would never meet. Except now they were standing here right in front of him, in the flesh, however impossible it should have been.

Ori's eyes took on an almost scared look. "You can't tell," she pleaded. "Please promise me you won't tell anyone!" Well. That wasn't the sort of reaction Fíli had expected, really, but that didn't mean he couldn't deal with it.

"Promise I won't tell anyone what?" asked Fíli, starting to catch on. "Tell your viewers you're a girl, or tell your brothers you're a boy?" Because something was going on, but he wasn't entirely sure what, and he figured he should get the details straight before he put his foot in his mouth in some spectacular fashion.

"Ah." Ori bit her lip, hand still on the back of the chair. "Actually… the latter."

"Right." Fíli nodded, hoping he looked suitably neutral on the matter. "I can keep that quiet."

"Thank you." At last, Ori took the seat, seeming to relax a little. "It's… well. I'm not actually, well, out to anyone. Not anyone I know offline, at least. I don't think my videos really count, because my viewers don't know I'm supposed to be anything else."

"Who says what you're supposed to be?" Because that just sounded ridiculous to Fíli. "If you're a guy, you're a guy. Who'd know that better than you, really?"

"Not everyone thinks it's that simple." And yet, there was an almost hopeful look in Ori's eyes.

"Maybe I'm just a simple guy." Fíli shrugged. "I mean, I'm into guys, my sister's into girls. I know that's not the same thing, but I haven't exactly been brought up to be all judgemental about things like that."

"I suppose that's good, then." Ori finally managed a small smile. "So, ah. You said you've watched my videos?"

"Only like all of them." Fíli grinned, glad to see Ori more at ease. "So, any chance you might give me some inside info on what you're going to be playing next?"

It wasn't actually that terrible in the end, chatting with Ori. At first they were both a bit awkward, Ori no doubt from the surprise and Fíli because he was doing his best not to let his fanboy tendencies come across too strongly, but they did have the common ground of games, so at least they had something to talk about. At some point Fíli realised they had been talking over coffee for almost two hours straight, something he wasn't sure he had ever done before.

"Really?" Ori blinked as Fíli shared this observation. "It doesn't feel like that long."

"That's what my phone tells me." Fíli flashed what he hoped was a charming grin. "I suppose it's all thanks to the charming company."

"Oh, hush." Ori looked a little embarrassed, which was an absolutely adorable look on him. "Maybe Nori just threatened to skin you alive if you didn't spend time with me."

"There weren't any threats involved, actually. Not direct ones, anyway." Fíli shook his head. "He appealed to my big brother instincts, actually. Played up how he and Dori are so very worried because you don't have any friends, because I would be worried as well if Kíli didn't have anyone around. Clearly I couldn't say no to that."

"So you were guilted and not threatened? I suppose that's progress for Nori." Ori's expression was more amused than embarrassed, now. "Though I suppose his grand scheme of having me meet someone who's into guys is a bit ill-advised, considering."

"Is it, now?" Fíli couldn't help but let his grin widen a bit. "Why, are you likely to flirt with me?"

"I don't know." Ori tilted his head like a curious bird, and oh, that was definitely adorable. "I'm not really good with the flirting thing. I'd really rather just ask you out."

"Are you, then?" Fíli would have been lying if he'd claimed his heart wasn't beating faster than usual. "Asking me out, that is?"

"Depends." Ori's lips twitched. "Are you likely to say yes?"

"Well, I've agreed to worse things before, and I have to say I do like you." Fíli chuckled. "I only date guys, though."

In an instant all signs of good cheer vanished from Ori's face, and he seemed to draw into himself. It hit Fíli a moment too late just why this was, and he cursed his own stupidity. So much for not putting his foot in his mouth.

"That's not what I meant!" he hurried to explain. "All I meant is — if we go on a date, I want you to be a boy. I mean, I know you're a boy no matter what you look like, I just… this isn't how you prefer to look, right? You prefer to look like a boy. And I prefer you like that, too, from what I've seen on your videos. So if we go on a date, I want it to be with the real you. Ah. If you're comfortable with it," he added as a somewhat pitiful afterthought. Ori wasn't out to anyone in his actual life; it wouldn't have been unthinkable he wasn't comfortable with presenting as male.

"I… I think I would like that." Ori was relaxing again, slowly but surely, and Fíli's heart started running mad again at the sight of a small smile on his face. "So… a date?"

"I think that's what we just agreed on, yes." And maybe he was grinning like an idiot right now, but he supposed he was allowed.

Kíli would not believe him when he told her how his meeting had gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ori has never been on an actual date before, but so far he rather likes his experience.
> 
> Of course, Fíli messes things up again, though this time it's not really his fault.

The thing was, Ori had never been on a date before.

This was due to a combination of various circumstances. There were the overly protective older brothers for a start, which would have discouraged most suitors right away. Not that he'd ever had any such things to consider, not exactly being the centre of attention in social circles. He very much preferred to fade into the background and avoid notice, and while it was a useful skill to avoid being bullied, it also meant he got very little positive attention, either.

Besides, well. There was always the boy thing. Even if someone had asked him out, he wouldn't have felt right about agreeing if the hypothetical person hadn't known the truth, and until now that had always seemed impossible.

And now, well, here was Fíli. Fíli, who had met him through his brothers, who knew the much more sociable and daring personality Ori managed to show in his videos, who knew Ori as him. Who had also met the shy and awkward not-quite-girl and still agreed when Ori asked him out. Except now that the thrill of that first meeting was fading, all Ori was left with was panic and worries about all the ways this could go horribly, horribly wrong.

Ori didn't think he had ever spent so long considering his appearance, which was utterly ridiculous. Not because Fíli wasn't worth it, but because Fíli had specifically asked him to dress the way he preferred, which meant soft, baggy clothes that didn't draw any special attention to the form underneath. After long internal debate Ori finally settled on one of his regular recording outfits — generic jeans and a comfortable hoodie, complete with a snug sports top that more or less hid what little he had in the way of a chest. It felt strange, going out to meet someone like this, but it was how Fíli had first seen him, wasn't it?

If he'd had any doubts about his choice, they would have been wiped away when Fíli first saw him. Fíli's eyes widened almost comically before he let out a burst of breath. "Well! If I'd still thought I had just imagined it all, this would clear that up."

"Oh?" Ori chanced a smile, gaining some confidence. "Is that a good thing?"

"You bet." Fíli chuckled, and that was such a wonderful sound, Ori wanted to hear it all the time. "Kíli kept insisting you couldn't really be Scribeling and it was all some big joke, probably arranged by Nori." He scratched the back of his neck then, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, actually she claimed I'd more or less shouted at you about you being Scribeling until you decided to play along to keep the madman happy. Details aside, I was starting to doubt myself at this point."

"Well, I can promise you, I'm the real deal. Which you should know if you watched the start of my new series." Not that there had been anything special about the series itself, but Ori had told Fíli what game he would be starting well ahead of time.

All right, and there might have been some mentions about how any poor playing on his part should be blamed on the cute guy he had met recently distracting him. Actually pointing that out now felt somewhat awkward, though.

"Of course I did. I watch everything you put on the channel." Fíli seemed to hesitate for a moment before reaching for Ori's hand, but when he did grasp on it, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. "Shall we, then? The film's starting soon."

Perhaps Ori had never tried dating before, but so far he was pretty happy with his experience.

*

"I can't believe you just sat there without even flinching when that thing popped out of the elevator."

Fíli still wasn't entirely sure he wasn't just dreaming.

Kíli would have no doubt teased him for such fears, for all that she had also teased him about imagining the entire thing. Here was his idol in the flesh, on a date with him, except this wasn't truly Scribeling but Ori. Ori, who was sometimes awkward and sometimes forgot his shyness in his excitement, who was always fiddling with something as though his hands missed the keyboard when he wasn't on his computer, who was cute and smart and funny and everything Fíli had ever dreamed he would be. Except unlike all his daydreams, Ori was very much real, sitting across from him and smiling in amusement.

"I really don't know what you expected," Ori said, sounding teasing. "I mean, I play horror games every day, you've seen the evidence. You should know I'm a bit desensitised to jump scares and stuff like that by now."

"Well, yeah, but you react more when the games are really dark. I figured a movie theatre would make you jumpy." Hey, it had seemed logical to him.

"Not a bad thought, but not true at this point. I haven't gotten really scared at a movie in ages." Ori tilted his head, grinning a bit more as he reached for one of Fíli's fries. "Let me guess. You wanted to pull the TV move of taking me to a horror movie just so I'd cling to you when I got startled?"

"Uh." Well, wasn't that embarrassing. "My sister told me it would totally work."

"Well, your sister clearly doesn't know me very well." At least Ori still looked more amused than offended, so that was something.

"Clearly not." Fíli chuckled. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure if she's ever been on an actual date, so I probably shouldn't have listened to her in the first place."

"Oh, but I like horror movies! So this was a great choice, really. And besides," Ori's grin widened a bit, "I did like the bit where you were clinging to me when you got startled."

"Glad I could please you." And, really, he had no shame in that. Ori was very nice to cling to, even if he wasn't exactly a big and strong protector.

"Oh, indeed you did." Ori's eyes twinkled, and Fíli was very glad to be the cause of that. "Hey, since we're almost done with our food, what do you think about dessert? I thought I'd go and get us both some ice cream."

"And here I was thinking I couldn't find a way to like you more." Fíli smiled as Ori stood up from the table. "You don't need help getting them, do you?" He only realised after he'd said it that his words might seem like a jab; after all, fast food ice cream portions weren't exactly the most massive things ever.

"I think I can handle the great burden even without your strong arms, thank you." Ori still sounded teasing, and that was good. Teasing was much better than Fíli managing to offend him all over again without meaning to.

"I will eagerly await your return, then." And for now, he would be watching Ori walking away with great interest. It was utterly unfair that anyone could look so, ah, interesting in a baggy hoodie and faded jeans.

"First date?"

Fíli blinked, surprised at being addressed so. As he looked up, he found a rather friendly-looking older man giving him an amused look. It was hard to tell his age exactly; Fíli would have said he was younger than Fíli's parents, but his hair was a fine, shiny silver. He seemed rather out of place in a fast food restaurant, too prim and proper for the chattering teens and generic background music. Still, he didn't look like some sort of a creep, so Fíli managed a smile in return.

"That obvious, huh?" Fíli rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. He hadn't thought his infatuation was quite that visible, for all that Kíli was always eager to claim he was practically making heart eyes on the screen every time he watched something of Ori's.

"It's the smiles." The man was standing there without a tray or food, Fíli noted. Maybe he had just stopped in for a coffee, or was here to get his kid. "Very first date smiles, those. No mistaking it."

"Well, yeah." Now he managed a chuckle. "First proper date, anyway. We've had coffee before, but…"

"It's different, isn't it? When you actually call it a date." The man patted his shoulder companionably. "That's a special girl you have there, young man. I do hope you treat her well."

For a split second Fíli actually considered just smiling and nodding. It would have been easier for all, after all, and nobody would have been ever the wiser. No reason to invite drama, after all. However, even as he thought about it, it felt wrong. So what if doing so might have won him some acceptance; it just wouldn't have done to betray Ori like that, even if he wasn't here.

"A special boy, actually." Fíli forced himself to remain calm, meeting the man's gaze head on. "But I definitely will."

Something shifted in the man's expression — nothing hostile, but something Fíli couldn't quite interpret. The man opened his mouth to speak, and Fíli almost dreaded what might come out, only for them both to freeze at the sound of Ori's voice.

"So I just realised I didn't even ask what you wanted and — Dori?"

Right. Kíli would absolutely not believe this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fíli won't back out of supporting Ori, no matter what. Fortunately, it turns out Dori isn't quite as fearsome as he might have thought.

The window of the car was cool against Fíli's forehead, made only more so by the warmth of Ori's hand gripping his far too tight.

This was, Fíli decided, probably the tensest car ride of his life, and that included the time he had been trapped in the backseat while his parents argued in the front. Nobody had said a word since they had stepped into the car, unless he counted Ori's whispered assurances that Fíli could just go home, really it was fine, which had been completely at odds with the pleading look in his eyes. He certainly had seemed relieved enough when Fíli very firmly accepted Dori's overly polite offer of tea and a ride home afterwards. There was no way he was going to leave Ori to deal with this alone, not when it was his fault that anything was wrong in the first place.

And, well, it wasn't like Dori could actually murder him, considering Kíli was perfectly aware where he had gone. Or so he very fervently hoped. There was no actual telling, considering Nori was from the same family.

At some point, Ori shifted closer to him, and Fíli moved away from the window to lean towards Ori instead, squeezing the hand in his. He pretended not to notice the look Dori gave them in the rear view mirror. It wasn't like the situation wasn't already painfully obvious, anyway.

The tension bled away into a moment of curiosity as they came to a halt after what felt like an eternity, stopping in front of a perfectly average little house. It seemed quite appropriate for the Ori he knew from the videos and their meetings, Fíli found himself thinking, a perfectly average little home with a meticulously tended garden. It was less elaborate than Fíli's own home, and the neighbourhood less rich, but it was in every way a perfectly respectable place, and he already knew Dori was all about respectability.

Judging from the tight grip on his hand, Ori was probably thinking of the same thing.

"Do come in," Dori said, opening the front door, and Fíli only felt a little like he was stepping into his doom. "I have to say, it's good to meet you, Fíli. It seems rather unfair that both my siblings have met you and I haven't."

"Well, to be fair, this is only the second time I've met Ori." Then, in a moment of defiance, Fíli added, "Though I'm sure there'll be a lot more."

"Is that so." Dori's expression still didn't waver from the polite smile that had lingered on his lips the whole time. "Ori, dear, do show him to the living room while I get the kettle on, why don't you?"

Ori seemed all too glad to escape his brother's presence, if only for a moment, tugging Fíli alongside himself. Fíli found himself lead into a living room that was, like everything in the house, the very image of a prim and proper middle class lifestyle. He was almost afraid to sit on the couch with the meticulously arranged little pillows until Ori all but threw himself down on it, pulling Fíli along.

"Are you all right?" Fíli murmured. Ori looked distraught and there wasn't much he could do about it, not after the way he had fucked up, but at least he could try.

"I'm not sure. I don't know anything right now." Ori's eyes drifted to the direction of what Fíli assumed was the kitchen. "He's — I'm not even sure what's going on."

"How did he even find us?" That was the part Fíli truly didn't understand. "Was he following us the whole time?"

"Nothing that sordid, I assure you." Dori's voice startled Fíli, who spun his head to look to the doorway. "Oh, I do apologise, I didn't mean to startle you. I only meant to ask whether you prefer honey or sugar."

"Ah. Honey?" It was a simple question, really, and yet it somehow felt like a bizarre test. Not that Fíli really had much of a preference either way, he wasn't the greatest drinker of tea in the world, but he had a vague memory of Nori pouring honey into his cup of tea while being interrogated by Fíli's nosy mother.

Okay, so perhaps all this looming wasn't entirely unwarranted.

Dori merely nodded without a comment, then vanished from the doorway. Ori sank deeper into the couch as soon as he did.

"You really don't need to be here, you know," Ori murmured. "You can go home. This is my mess, and really, I should have been dealing with this much earlier."

"I'll go if you don't want me here." Because he wasn't about to force himself into something like this, not if Ori would have been more comfortable without him. "But if my being here helps at all — well. Then I'll be here, as long as you need me to."

Ori didn't reply, but he did manage a small smile, and that was all Fíli needed right now to calm his own racing heart.

Dori returned a moment later, carrying a tray piled high with all sorts of sugary treats, all homemade by the looks of it. "The tea will be ready shortly," he assured them, setting the tray down on the small table in front of the couch before sitting down in the armchair across from them. "And to answer your question from earlier, well, we have always gone to that same restaurant as a treat after going to the movies, ever since Ori was a child. Not that I've been deemed appropriate movie-going company for a while now, and frankly our tastes have drifted apart in that regard, but when I noticed Ori was being unusually fussy about clothes even while insisting there was only going to be a movie, I knew where I might find you afterwards."

"You were spying on us?" Ori sounded scandalised and shocked at the same time, enough so that Fíli almost found himself getting angry by association.

"Not spying, not quite." Dori reached out to take one of the cookies laid out on the tray, taking a very proper little nibble of it. "I just wanted to make sure everything was all right, since you almost seemed worried before leaving. If you hadn't returned to the table when you did, I would have left and gone home on my own. I had no intention of interrupting your date, but you seemed so shocked to see me there, I decided it might be for the best for us all to calm down over a spot of tea."

"You know that's not why I was startled."

"Well, I was given to understand there might be other reasons as well, yes." Dori glanced at Fíli. "Your young man here seemed quite adamant that he was meeting a very special boy."

Fíli glanced at Ori, not sure if he should say anything. He'd already made enough of a mess of things, really. Ori looked back at him, then visibly steeled himself, turning back to Dori. His hand was clutching Fíli's hard enough to almost hurt, but Fíli wasn't about to complain. "Yes," Ori said, his voice quiet but audible enough with the other two being deadly silent. "Yes, I imagine he was."

"Right." Dori nodded solemnly. "Which is good. I would hardly want you to be seeing someone who does not realise how special you are."

"That's all you have to say?" Ori blurted out. "That's the part you're concerned with?"

"Is there a reason I should be concerned about anything else?"

"Dori." Ori's voice trembled, just a bit. "What are you playing at?"

"I'm only saying, if you didn't want anyone to know you are a boy, perhaps you shouldn't have been so open about it in your videos. And if you didn't want me to see your videos, well, perhaps you shouldn't have chosen the username you've been using absolutely everywhere since the time you still kept borrowing my computer and forgot to sign out of everything. Of course I would search for that name when you mentioned trying your hand at making videos."

"You — you knew?" Ori sounded like he could hardly believe what he was hearing. "This whole time?"

"Oh, my dear boy." Dori offered Ori a faint smile. "I was your very first subscriber."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Ori's voice was rising to an almost shrill quality, and Fíli winced at the strong grip at his hand. Ori relaxed his hold immediately, but kept his eyes locked on Dori nevertheless.

"What was I supposed to say? I didn't know why you were doing it at first, or if you were even doing anything. You weren't exactly declaring your gender in your first videos. For all I knew, maybe you just liked recording in hoodies and without accessories. And when you had stated a few times that you were a boy, well, I figured you would talk to us when you were ready."

"So… you're not mad, or something?"

"If I am mad at anyone, it is at myself for not being trustworthy enough that you would come to me with this sooner." Dori shook his head. "You are who you are, Ori, and I don't presume to have any say in that. If you wish to talk about it, I will listen, and if there is anything I can do to help, I hope you'll ask me."

"Oh." Ori blinked, and Fíli was startled to see tears in his eyes. "That's — I just —"

"Sister or brother, that doesn't matter to me. You are my Ori anyway." Dori clicked his tongue. "Though I suppose this does explain why you never liked the pretty dresses I picked out for you. Such a pity, too. Some of them were just adorable."

"Thank you." Fíli was almost startled to realise the one who had spoken up was him. "For not making a problem about this."

"If I were uncouth enough to try to make it a problem, I sincerely hope Ori would have people strong enough to support him even in that." Dori's eyes flitted toward their clasped hands before lifting again to meet Fíli's eyes. "I meant what I said, you know. You seem like a decent enough young man, and it's obvious enough you are fond of my dear Ori. I'm sure we will have no problem adjusting to one another, as long as you don't prove my initial estimates false."

"I hope not." Fíli squeezed Ori's hand gently before letting go, only to reach his arm around his shoulders. Ori was actually crying now, but leaned into Fíli's chest easily enough. "Because I rather hope to be in Ori's life for a good, long while."

"Excellent!" Dori primly set down the cookie he had only eaten half of, standing up. "I'll go get the tea, why don't I? And after that we can have a nice little chat. I'm rather curious to know more about you than simply the fact that you are a cousin of Dwalin's."

Perhaps, Fíli thought with a slightly hysteric air, perhaps he hadn't fucked up quite as badly as he had thought.

And as Ori actually managed a smile after a cup of tea and two slices of cake, teasing Dori about derailing their date on purpose just to make sure nothing too scandalous was going on, well, Fíli had definitely had worse experiences.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some time after the various revelations, there is a new game for Our to play.
> 
> Someone is watching him, or perhaps more than one.

"LET'S PLAY Seven Seconds at Screamer's 6 #1: Two Die Today"

Most of the computer screen was taken up by a dark title screen, with barely identifiable silhouettes flashing against a red background dark enough to almost be black. One corner was dedicated to a smaller video feed that showed not one, but two computer chairs, situated right next to each other. Just as the game's music started to build into a threatening crescendo that almost immediately broke into a series of scratching sounds, a teenage boy entered the screen and dropped into one of the chairs, followed by a rather clumsier entrance by another boy close to the same age.

"Hello, pretty people!" The first of the boys smiled brightly at the camera, while the other gave a friendly if not a bit awkward wave. "I'm Scribeling, and this is the new Seven Seconds at Screamer's! As most of you know, we've been teased about this game having a co-operative mode for quite a while, and turns out, the rumours were right. Now, I was planning on doing a solo playthrough anyway, because I really don't feel co-op works for the kind of horror that Screamer's is going for, but since the game decided to pop out a full two weeks before scheduled just when I had someone over, we decided to give it a try."

"You mean, you wanted everyone to see just how bad I am," the other boy remarked wryly, then froze as though startled to realise he had just spoken up on camera.

"Aw, never." Scribeling leaned in to press a kiss to the other boy's cheek before turning back to the camera. "So, everyone, my special guest here is my boyfriend Fíli, also known as LostThrone. Now, he's not as terrible at playing as he'd have you believe, but he does admit he's never finished a Screamer's game before. The developer did state that the co-op mode is more difficult to make up for having two players working on things, so this should be interesting indeed!"

"Yes, because what we really needed in the Screamer's series was for the games to be even harder than before. Of course." LostThrone sighed, shaking his head. "Just so you know, I expect a reward for this. There's a reason I watch videos of these games instead of just playing them, and it's not just because you're cute."

"Don't worry, my brother is making us cupcakes." Scribeling's smile got even wider. "So! You ready? Because we're about to get started on getting killed!"

Nori chuckled, snuggling back into Dwalin's chest. The couch would probably have been softer and possibly even more comfortable, but it did not come with heating, so sprawling himself over Dwalin's lap was clearly the superior option. "I'm not sure your poor cousin knew what he was getting himself into."

"Well, we know he's watched just about everything Ori ever made, I think he was more than aware." Dwalin shook his head, though his hand didn't move from where it was combing through Nori's hair. That was good, Nori would have hated to get mad at him for interrupting his terribly important duties. "I mean, according to you, the Ori on the videos is the closest he ever gets to his actual personality around strangers."

"In the later videos, at least. In the first ones he was as shy as ever." Nori snorted. "He's really bad about interacting with strangers, always has been. When he knows you, though, there's no stopping him."

"He wasn't intimidated in the least by me even on our first meeting, so I'm not sure about that strangers part."

"That's different. He couldn't be shy then, he had to make sure you were good enough for me. He couldn't very well accomplish that if he was afraid, now could he?" Not that Nori hadn't been terribly amused by his tiny brother glaring up at Dwalin and announcing that if Dwalin ever somehow hurt Nori on purpose, Ori would hunt him down.

"Yeah, he's a fierce one, that's for sure." Dwalin paused. "So, has he come out to you yet?"

"Kind of? He hasn't quite said anything aloud, but he was definitely acting differently the last time I visited. I'd have thought he would right away, what with you knowing Fíli and all, but I suppose it didn't even occur to him it might get out that way."

"Well, to be fair, I haven't had time to visit Dís and the kids often lately, and it's not like that would necessarily reveal anything unless Ori was actually there." Dwalin chuckled. "If he hasn't actually told you, though, there might be more to that dinner invitation this weekend than Dori just wanting to make sure I still haven't turned out into a creep."

"Might be. Guess we'll have to practise our surprised expressions, huh? Or, you know, at least our excuses."

"Hey, I don't want anything to do with this. Your schemes are your own. Just because I enable them doesn't mean I'm going to take responsibility for them." And yet Dwalin kept petting his hair, so clearly he wasn't all that reluctant about being involved in whatever Nori came up with. "You know, you could just admit you've known the truth for a while, now."

"And admit I knowingly set him up with a gay guy who's into him? That's a can of worms I'm not opening just yet, thanks." Nori shook his head. "It's one thing for Dori to face the fact Ori is old enough to be dating. My aiding and abetting that fact is a whole different mess, and one I don't think would reflect well on me."

"It will come out sooner or later, you know. From what I know about Dori, he has a way of finding things out."

"Even so, I'd like to maintain my plausible deniability as long as I can." Nori grabbed Dwalin's other hand, using it to drag one of the strong, thick arms around himself. "Now, hush. They're almost out of the tutorial, I bet the screaming's about to start."

"Bet you Fíli's going to be the one to die first."

"I'm not taking that bet. Obviously Ori's the better player there." And if there was a bit of pride in his voice, well, he supposed it was perfectly allowed.

He had plenty of reason to be proud of his brave little brother, after all.


End file.
